The Monroe-Woodbury School District earns top national honors in 2012 Magna Awards
ALEXANDRIA, Va. The Monroe-Woodbury School District has been named one of three grand prize winners in the American School Board Journals 18th annual Magna Awards program.
The Monroe-Woodbury Central School District is being honored as the grand prize winner in the 5,000 to 20,000 enrollment category for an outreach program at an elementary school that serves a community with a large immigrant population. School district officials, with support from the school board, developed English as a Second Language Family Nighta program that provides literacy training for students and their parents twice a week. While the literacy skills of both parents and students improved, more parents are volunteering for class activities. Parents also are more comfortable expressing themselves to school staff members.
The Magna Awards recognize districts across the country for outstanding programs that advance student learning and encourage community involvement in schools. This years three grand prize, 15 first place, and 15 honorable mention winners were selected from three enrollment categories: under 5,000 students, 5,000 to 20,000 students, and over 20,000 students. This years other grand prize winners were the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District in Maplewood, Mo., and the Pittsburgh Public Schools in Pennsylvania.
Each of the grand prize-winning school districts will receive $4,000 in scholarship money during a special presentation at the National School Boards Associations conference, to be held April 21-23 in Boston.
This years awards recipients showcase the best practices and innovative school programs that are advancing student success, said Anne L. Bryant, ASBJs publisher and executive director of NSBA.
ASBJ initiated the Magna Awards in 1995 to recognize school boards for taking bold and innovative steps to improve their educational programs. An independent panel of school board members, administrators, and other educators selected the winners from 300 submissions. This years nominations came from 44 states.